


That One Friendship Bracelet Story

by ShutUpFoxFace



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Friendship Bracelets, Gen, Happy Ending, Minor Angst, parent deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-20 10:13:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22182265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShutUpFoxFace/pseuds/ShutUpFoxFace
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	That One Friendship Bracelet Story

Since age 13, Daniel Atlas made a lot of friendship bracelets.

This would not be a problem if he had friends or, well, really *anyone* to give them to, but he was a lonely child, and no one was really sure why.

That is, aside from the anxiety attacks, the sensory overloads, the breakdowns in the hallway, the frustrating stutter, and the germ phobia. Despite his own beliefs, Daniel Atlas was not a normal child.

But the thing that calmed his brain when nothing else could was the feeling of embroidery thread between his fingers, tying knots that were once tricky, ugly things but now wound together into wonderful artworks. His fingers, once covered in small patches of rope burn, had grown accustomed to the routine involved.

Cobra weave, around-the-pole-, candy stripe, and more, all varieties of bracelet lay in a bin under his bed, what was once a handful was enough to fill a shoebox or two, and still, young Daniel Atlas had not gotten close enough to anyone to give a single one away.

At age 15, Daniel Atlas still made almost as many as he had at 13, but he had slowed down to account for more challenging school work. He was a bright young mind who probably shouldn’t be taking so many AP classes in Sophomore Year, but if he wanted to get out of this town, he needed an education, and a scholarship.

He had managed to keep all but one of his bracelets safe through the move to an apartment that a single mother could afford with her teenage son; the one bright, colorful bracelet was six feet under with a father whose smile was just as bright. The two bins of bracelets were topped with many greys and blues, but the color still showed underneath, a sign that Daniel Atlas could shine through this, too.

His mom insisted on therapy; he’d agreed only because he was still allowed to make his bracelets at the appointments. Over time, the germ phobia was managed and he had more coping skills in case of panic attacks. Still, his classmates stayed away, and this was fine with him. At least, that was what he’d told himself.

At age 17, Daniel Atlas had graduated a year early, and had an almost-completed associate’s degree. His mother had cheered and cried with him when looking at his university admission letters, including the full-ride scholarships, and more importantly to him, she’d secretly saved enough to move closer to his dream school. He didn’t have to be as far as he’d once thought; independence and closeness weren’t mutually exclusive, after all, and he wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

So off they went, to New England, to a new start. For all of the bracelets he’d made for his parents over the years, he left 3 more on his father’s grave the day before they left. He tried not to think about his old classmates who’d most likely seen him crying in the cemetery.

At age 18, Daniel Atlas had made fewer and fewer bracelets.

By age 19, Daniel Atlas had a job and an almost-finished Bachelor's Degree

By age 21, Daniel Atlas had figured he didn’t need to make bracelets anymore; there was no one left to take or see any of the thousands he’d made.

…  
…  
…  
At age 25, Daniel Atlas was a stupid street magician who’d just pushed away the person he’d gotten closest to. And now he had Rebecca, who was ditzy, and shallow, and couldn’t hold an intelligent conversation that didn’t involve religion or politics. All he wanted was to take back all he’d said and to say all he hadn’t. Most of all, he wanted to give her one of the bracelets. But now she wasn’t even answering.

At age 28, Daniel Atlas was a wanted criminal who had robbed a bank and an insurance CEO. He’d been an antisocial pessimistic asshole, but the job was done. And while they were all getting tired of waiting for the next step, Henley was the most vocal. The day that she left, they parted on good terms; her number was in his phone, and his cotton-candy striped bracelet was on her wrist.

At age 29, Daniel Atlas was in a safehouse in Macau. Somehow, his bracelets had made it to his room, under the bed in the back corner, as always. And finally, he figured it might be time to bring them out.

“Hey, guys, do you have a minute?”

Of course they did; there was no next-stage plan to work on yet, and everyone was still celebrating. Nonetheless, they turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

“... Wow, this might be a little awkward… I know we’re celebrating, and this might not be the time to ruin the mood, but I have something to show and give you all.”

He placed the bin on the table, uncovered and on full display, and looked up to meet the others’ confused eyes.

“When I was 11, I learned how to make friendship bracelets from a library book. I only started to get good at making them when I was 13. I thought it would be a cool way to seem friendly, but I got laughed at once before I decided maybe it was better to keep them until I had friends who would appreciate them. So far, only 3 people have gotten any; my mom, my dad, and Ms. Henley Reeves, wherever she is now. And we, as a group, haven’t had it easy. We’ve fought a lot, bumped heads, I committed betrayal against Dylan and then saved his life, stuff like that. But as the fourth party besides myself who has ever seen this collection, you are the closest people to me and I want you all to take as many bracelets as you want; I made them to share, and I finally have people who deserve it.

What started as a shoebox full at 13 had become too many to count, even after every horseman had sleeves of bracelets, but Daniel Atlas couldn’t help but smile. He had friends to give the bracelets to, and he wasn’t a lonely child anymore.


End file.
